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Kolkata City Information

Kolkata Airlines, Destinations & Terminals

The former capital of British India, the port of Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta) today forms the commercial and industrial hub of eastern India located on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River (about 150 kilometres upstream from the Bay of Bengal), which is a tributary of the Ganges. It is one of the four mega cities in India. Most travellers tend to visit the areas in Kolkata that are south of the Howrah Bridge, around BBD Bagh and Chowringhee.

During the British Raj Kolkata was known as the Jewel of the East and was the capital of the country till 1911. It still bears the Victorian imprint on its streets and structures. Today, it is still the most important city in the east, the nerve center of trade and industry of the State.

To the first time visitor, Kolkata is indeed overwhelming with its 15 million inhabitants (or maybe more). It presents a unique blend of 19th century Europe and the throbbing vitality of a metropolis of teeming millions. Densely populated and polluted, Kolkata is often an ugly and desperate place, that to many, sums up the worst of India. Yet it's also one of the country's more fascinating centres producing some of India's finest literature, theatre, films, art and culture. It is also known as the "City of Joy".